Best pay-as-you-go prepaid plan

Bottom line

Net10 gets high marks for call quality and its
nation-spanning network. The carrier offers simple pricing plans and a wide
range of phones. Its pay-as-you-go plans are some of the cheapest around, but
texting can eat up minutes in a hurry. If you want Internet access, you'll need
to step up to Net10's unlimited plans.

Plans and flexibility

Lots to choose from. Net10 offers lots of different monthly unlimited and pay-as-you-go
plans. Pay-as-you-go options are particularly attractive, as they offer some of
the lowest per-minute rates. Unused minutes and service days roll over if you
top off your account (add minutes) before your plan hits its expiration date. However,
texting counts against your minute allotment (at a rate of around 30 seconds
each) and there is no data allotment. A $20 Net10 card has 200 minutes or up to
400 texts, and is good for 30 days. More expensive pay-as-you-go options add
minutes and extend the expiration date, up to a $100 card with 1,500 minutes or
up to 3,000 texts, good for 180 days. Things are even cheaper if you select an
auto-renewing 30-day plan, with the cost for 200 minutes dropping to $15 per
month, and 500 minutes costing $30 per month. Net10 also offers unlimited monthly
plans, including a 30-day unlimited talk, text and data (high-speed data is capped
at 500 MB) plan for $50; a $75-per-month unlimited plan is similar, but ups the
high-speed data cap to 5 GB. A family plan for two people for 30 days is $90, while
for four people it's $170 for 30 days; auto-refill drops $5 off the cost. You
can also bring your own phone and opt for a SIM-card plan that costs $50 per
month for unlimited talk, text, and data (with 2.5 GB of high-speed data).
International calls are allowed on the pay-as-you-go plans as well as on
Net10's Unlimited International plan (Est. $65 per month), but not on most
other plans.

Performance

Service is just OK. Net10 is owned by TracFone, a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO)
that provides service by buying minutes in bulk from nationwide cellular
providers like Verizon and AT&T and reselling them. Because your calls are
on the networks of the major national providers, quality and reliability are
generally excellent, though that can vary widely depending on your locale. User
reviewers at Viewpoints.com give TracFone good marks for call quality.
Subscriber comments at PrepaidReviews.com give Net10 mixed reviews and a low
average 2-star rating, with subscribers either being very impressed or terribly
unimpressed with Net10's call quality and coverage.

Customer service

Below-average customer service. The main drawback to Net10 is its customer service, according to reviews
written by frustrated users. On the Viewpoints.com website, Net10 is ranked
about average in most categories, including call quality and coverage, but
falls short for customer service. Contributors to PrepaidReviews.com agree that
Net10's customer service is of low quality. Net10 earns low scores in the two
large customer surveys by J.D.Power and Associates.

Phone selection

Wide choice of handsets. TopTenReviews.com states that Net10 has an average selection of phones,
but it's actually quite extensive, with a choice of over 45 handsets. The
choices include the latest 4G LTE, Android and iPhone smartphones, as well as
basic phones. The iPhone 5s 64 GB costs $650 and the Samsung Galaxy S4 $600;
basic phones start at around $20. Family phone bundles allow you to buy two phones
at a discount. You can also bring your own phone and buy a T-Mobile- or
AT&T-compatible SIM card for $7.

Net10 is one of eight prepaid cell phone services
rated by over 58,000 respondents in ConsumerReports.org's survey. Prepaid
providers are rated separately, so it is easy to see how Net10 stacks up
compared to its nearest competitors.

Review: Cell Phones and Services, Editors of ConsumerReports.org, September 2013

2. J.D. Power and Associates

J.D. Power and Associates surveys over 5,000
wireless subscribers of pay-as-you-go plans, who rate their wireless purchase
experiences. Net10 is one of three service providers to earn 2 stars, well
behind the leading companies.

Net10 places sixth in TopTenReviews.com's list of
prepaid phone services. Editors rank its selection of plans higher than that of
its parent company, TracFone. Its features, plans and customer service receive
average scores.

The write-ups of 28 prepaid cell phone service
providers are based on an evaluation of features and prices rather than on
testing, but the information seems accurate. Net10 is one of the highest-rated
carriers. Each write-up includes details about roaming charges, 411 calls, data
plans and other features, making this a great place to begin researching plans.

Around 160 user reviewers on Viewpoints.com award
Net10 a score of 64 out of 100, just below the industry average. While Net10 is
rated about average in most categories, including call quality and coverage, it
falls short in features and especially in customer service.

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